Bottom Line: Overall I'm sure this place is great and when I have another plate I may edit my review, but I Uberred a Dry Pot Chicken dish from their menu and service and setup was great, however, the flavor was not what I had expected. Maybe consider other plates unless you HAVE szechuan peppercorns. Dry pot chicken with veggies is always my go to order at Szechuan restaurants and I've had it many times but Mala tang did something differnet to it that sat with me in a wrong way...while the entire price of it ($30) for chicken + 3 veggies and side of white rice was fine (usually pricier but feeds 2-3 people), the flavor was way off in my opinion. They put a LOT of szechuan peppercorns that I eventually had to pick out of my dishes and every time I bit into one or a piece of one, that strong peppercorny flavor was stuck in my mouth. I've never had it anything like this. Loved the mala spice...that was on point. Not too spicy and not too mild, but after half way through my meal, I couldn't do it anymore because of the szechuan peppercorns. You HAVE to like them and its flavor if you have this dish from Mala Tang. Usually it's not this strong but now I'm nervous ordering it at future restaurants in case its' going to be like this again... Overall, must like Szechuan peppercorn flavor to enjoy this dish, otherwise consider another option! read more

Best Sichuan I've had in the DMV. Had the dry pot with chicken. Genuine numbing spiciness. You want heat, it's the place to beat.

Love the mapo tofu, dumpling soup, and dandan noodles. Have never tried the hotpot, but always looks tasty. Have tried a few beef dishes which were only ok nothing to write home about. Gave it a 3/5 because my fave dish, the mapo tofu, is no consistently the same yummy standard. I want consistency out of places I eat. read more

Always reliable, fast and delicious; well packaged. Ordered again on UberEats for self pick up. Everything was ready when I got there. No-fuss, easy pick up. I recommend their Mongolian beef (with green scallion, delicious); bok choy mushroom; sweet and sour soup; and salt and pepper prawn. All classic and nicely presented. read more

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I made a reservation online to make sure I get a seat but it looked like there were many seats available. I got the a la carte hot pot and the portions were big and service was quick. My partner got a chicken dish and he thought it was delicious. Would definitely come back! read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. I normally don't write reviews, but I felt compelled to write a review to share my experience here. The food was decent, but the service was terrible. Each person is presented with their own personal flamed pot if they order the mala combo. However, my friends pot seemed to have an issue from the get-go. Her pot combusted when the server was initially lighting it, as if that wasn't an ominous sign enough, surely, after we started eating, my friend slightly adjusted the pot, the fire from underneath the pot came up quickly engulf the entire pot in flames. In doing so, my friend suffered a first degree burn. I get it, these things do happen at times, especially handling equipments such as these. But what astounded me was when not only did no service member hear our party scream when the fire engulfed the pot; when we informed them that one of our party members was suffering a 1st degree burn, they calmly, and nonchalantly informed us it was normal. They even had burn cream ready because it happens "often"!? What kind of operation is this if customer safety seemingly is last on their priority list? "Oh this is normal, this happens quite often" says the male and female manager. What also might happen quite often is a lawsuit, for knowingly endangering their customers. Due to the terrible experience and nonchalant attitude by the managers that were in charge, I purposefully did not leave a tip on my card, as they didn't even offer any compensations. That's fine, no problem, let's leave it at that. Today I was scrolling through my bank account and charges, I was surprised to find that a 6$ tip has been posted to the charge. The audacity of this restaurant. 如果我能给这地方零颗星，我会的。我平常不在网上写评论，但我觉得必须要分享我在这餐厅经历过的事情。食物还不错，但服务很糟糕。如果点的是火锅，每一个人都会有单人的火锅。我朋友的大麻似乎从一开始就有问题。服务员刚点燃她的锅时，她的锅燃烧了。在我们开始吃饭后，我的朋友稍微调整了一下锅，锅下面的火很快就烧起来了，整个锅都被火焰吞没了。我的朋友被一级烧伤。当大火吞噬锅时，不仅没有一个服务人员听到我们的尖叫声，当我们告诉他们我们的伤时，老板和经理都若无其事地告诉我们这很正常。这种事情"经常"发生？！看的样子客户的安全似乎在他们的优先事项列表中垫底。"哦，这很正常，这种情况经常发生。" 老板和经理都对我们说。这是人话吗？ 因为经过这些也不提供补偿，我故意没有在卡上留下小费。今天我在浏览我的银行账户和账单，我惊讶地发现账单中有6美元的小费。这家店是什么东西呀，是黑点呀！ read more

Mala Tang - the burn by the hot pot - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

The food overall was really good and sauce station was on point!!! But the service was a bit odd and I did feel like the staff could have been more friendlier and open about our orders. I understand that each individual must order a pot on their own but it just seemed really pushy and my friends and I were genuinely confused. It took us about 20 minutes (with the server "trying" to explain to us) to decide on our order. Rather than giving us options she instead grudgingly kept saying we had to order each our own. I had thought maybe I could get just a bowl of soup and share the ingredients with my friend but instead I had to order a la carte meal or another bowl. We ended up getting the combo for 2 I believe. But yeah, I just remembering feeling hella confused about what we could or couldn't order. Remember to use the Yelp 10% off discount! This is a bit on the pricier end so it definitely helps! read more

Mala Tang - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Bought takeaway this evening, It was delicious! The mapo tofu is amazing. Spicy, silken, and mmmmm. We had two kinds of dumplings and the shredded chicken with string beans. All were delicious. Their food can be very spicy - especially the hot pot broth. I think the generous use of peppercorns explains the low rating. But if you are looking for good Sichuan food Mala Tang is probably the best around. read more

It doesn't even make sense how good Mala Tang is. I have no idea when it opened but I'm disappointed that I'm just finding it, considering I've been looking for a quality hot pot spot without having to hop out to Fairfax. Mala Tang is conveniently located for the Northernest of Northern Virginians; just up the road and around the corner from the Clarendon eateries that we usually settle for. I'll get the missing star out of the way: Parking! You can park across the street after a certain time but the signage for that accommodation can't be seen from the street. I don't mind limited parking (I'd go crazy living here if I did) but I'd recommend that patrons are more clearly directed to the designated parking area. Ok, I'm over that. Next! Ambiance/Service: The restaurant has a classic style with a prosperous red color scheme. The space is used well with tables close enough to allow for maximal patronage but not so close that you feel as though you're getting up close and personal with strangers. The service was pretty stealth. You're seated and served quickly, the waitstaff is barely noticeable but always present in case you need anything. I have no idea how my water cup stayed full but I'm sure someone was doing it. I did realize later on that some people had their drink orders taken and others didn't but I quickly got over that, too. Food: For me, the best thing about Mala Tang is the individual hot pot set up. I have a lot of meat eaters in my life and I appreciate the option to not share my broth with them. Vegetarian and non-spicy broths are available for folks who need them. I didn't taste the non-spicy but I am fully going to bat for the mala broth; the flavors are perfect! I would expect it to be spicier (because Sichuan!) but the lack of heat is saved by the overall great taste. I heard some talk of the "no spice" option being a bit bland but I wouldn't dare go that route. The raw foods are brought out on trays (not sticks) and served family style. In true Chinese fashion, there's a lazy Susan in the middle of the table to make for easy sharing. There's no real way they can get the food wrong since you're cooking it, right? With the dry pots, they cook your selections for you in the mala sauce. If you're not feeling the work or patience of cooking your own food, then go for this option. If you like non-stripmall Chinese food, you won't be disappointed at Mala Tang. read more

Mala Tang - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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The best dong po braised pork I have had so far. It was very decadent, such a great pleasure having that rich flavor melting in my mouth. I just loved it so much. Fresh ingredients, freshly cooked. Great mala taste in braised beef noodle soup, too. Good portions, prompt service. read more

Malatang bowl is huge and has that true Szechuan taste, flavor and heat. We've come back here just to eat Malatang. It's worth it for the size (can probably feed 3-4 individuals). Will come back once again just to have this soup. read more

Mala Tang - Mala Bites - specify the number of vegetables, meat and soup type. - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Not bad sichuan, authentic and very popular with the locals. The appetizers of black mushrooms and beef tendon were good. The black mushrooms were a little bland but there were plenty of spicy and salty sauces to go with it. The personal hot pot had a salty broth, which after dunking the fresh ingredients into the pot turned out nicely salted. I have to say the broth was too salty for drinking. If you wanted to consume the broth I would ask them to reduce the salt. An absolutely ginormous bowl of assorted skewers landed on our table, swimming in a sea of spicy broth and oiliness. I can't say it was the greatest but it was very much a Sichuan dish. There were quail eggs and large chunks of lotus root, among the miscellany of brochetted delights. Lastly, a large oval metal dish wafted from the kitchen containing a whole fish. Braised in a red fiery sauce, white chunks of fish were exposed upon parting of the sauce. All in all a good Sichuan experience. Not top notch but certainly passable as good. read more

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Authentic Chinese food! We enjoyed the small (but many ingredients!) hotpot. The lamp is also very nice. Mapo Tofu is average. read more

Mala Tang - Mala Broth Traditional Veggie Combo Mapo Tofu with Pork Cumin Lamb Stir Fried Spinach with Garlic - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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I love this place! A great menu and the hot pots are just fun! Great staff! read more

Absolutely delicious hot pot restaurant very conveniently located by the Metro station! Very friendly wait staff and delicious options. The strip steak is especially great, and the enoki mushrooms are really tasty too. I also love the sauce bar! Highly recommend this hidden gem. read more

Sake was delicious. Food was amazing. Good service. All around, a great first hot pot experience! read more

Amazing first hot pot experience! We ordered bok choy, chrysanthemums, quail eggs, pork dumplings, pork, milk marinated beef, enoki mushrooms, wooden ear mushrooms, and lotus root. It comes with rice and I ordered the vegetarian broth to cook everything. The sauce bar was great! They had some directions for how to make certain sauces but also you can create your own. Everything was very flavorful and fresh! read more

Mala Tang - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

I have a lot to say but don't know where to start lol :P First off, they changed their menu, so there is no longer a vegetarian option for the hot pot combo (which ?????????), so instead you have to order a la carte and spend ~$32.95 to get all the same stuff as the combo except to have TOFU (???) but i digress. Also, the waitress didn't come by to take our order for probably 20 minutes after we ordered drinks which was shocking despite the almost completely empty restaurant. She was either hiding in the back of the restaurant or had her back turned to all the tables, so it's not like we could have waved her over even if we wanted. She also seemed like she would rather be doing quite literally anything else, but to be fair, we came here for the food and not the service. As for the food, I forgot to take pictures because the flame for the hot pot caught my friend's hair on fire which was pretty distracting :P Despite half her head of hair being singed from going up in flames, the waitress just said "oh", awkwardly chuckled, and handed her a napkin upon being notified. All in all, it was hot pot. Most definitely would rather go somewhere else where I could pay the same price for all you can eat AND there is lower risk of your hair catching on fire. Also... WHY no scallions at the sauce bar ????? TLDR: Too expensive. Bring a hair tie. read more

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I was in the mood for traditional Chinese food. This place has good food, but not typical of other places I have been. I would recommend the Chicken Won Tong soup. It's different but very tasty. Portions are HUGE!!! Definitely can share everything; soup, entrees, etc. read more

Mala Tang - Wonton Chicken Soup - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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If you like spicy hot and really appreciate the different ways in which foods can be prepared spicy hot, then this is a place to go and get your satisfaction. You will not be disappointed! read more

I only got the hot pot combo for one here! Overall it was tasty and I loved all the veggies they brought out to add to my soup. However, I did find it to be a bit pricey for one serving and parking wasn't validated. read more

Mala Tang - Mala beef hot pot - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Pros: Fast, reliable, and yummy...consistently Cons: Service could be faster but not an issue We chose to dine at Mala Tang while attending a conference at the GMU-Arlington campus. Really good decision. Service wasn't bad, and was seated quickly. Ordered the Combo #2 with Wonton Soup and Spicy Garlic Chicken. It was delicious. The server was especially friendly and seemed to be managing the entire restaurant by his lonesome. Extra points for multi-tasking...definitely recommend this hidden gem. Satisfied. read more

Did anyone say Szechuan dry pot???? Did I hear anyone say spicy Chongqing style freaking crazy delicious dry pot? This has to be one of my absolute favorite things to eat in the whole world (besides anything my mom makes at home) and let me tell you, they sure as hell know how to do it right. As most of you know, who follow my reviews, I spent almost a decade in Asia, with over six years in southern China. I ate this stuff four times a week. We had a kick-butt dry pot place in the lower level of my office building and i took my staff there several times per week. Every time I traveled to Chengdu or Chongqing I would devour this stuff. It is just absolutely delicious and these friends at Mala Tang know how to do it. Make sure you are ready, to be honest with yourself on the level of spice. If you order a very spicy mala tang you will probably not be able to eat it. Be careful. The Chinese of Szechuan really know how to do spice. It is even said that spice makes the ladies' skin so beautiful there. PM me if you have never tried this before and you have questions prior to going or if you are there with questions. When you visit, let my brother from another mother know Roland sent you and he will take very very good care of you! Enjoy this delicious taste of spicy China! Oh, and this is another five-star for me!! read more

Pretty disappointed in the quantity of the food. The "combination for 2" option for $42 is really overpriced for the 3 tiny plates of meat, and 3 types of vegetables that was able to all fit in one small plate. I know this is Arlington, but $21/person is like the average price of AYCE hotpot in NoVA. All in all I really question the sincerity of this place. Quantity and quality aside, all the sticker labels at the sauce station are dirty and half torn off. All someone need to do is spend less than 1 hour to replace the labels, and that can already go a long way for customer's impression. Same goes for the (lack of) plating of the food; if it's going to be charged at this price point, don't stack the wet meat like they came directly from the meat market. The location and the size of this restaurant is quite prime, the amount of effort being put in just doesn't match up. read more

Mala Tang - All meat Combination for 2: pork and beef slices - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Food was good (except for the wine marinated beef which was way pricey for the quality). What really messed up our afternoon was the attitude of the waitress. We had told her it was our first time at the place but when we asked any questions...she made us sound like we were dumb. All in all she was extremely cold and rude in her response. What was surprising was that we were the first ones to show up for dinner and the place was completely empty.So it was not like she was busy either. Management should make sure that their servers are mentally prepared to host for the night!! My $0.02 read more

Bottom line: Decent hot pot. The skewers ( 串串）in mala soup are delicious and fun to eat. Not cheap - you will pay about $40-50 for two to get full on the skewers. Service is just okay - I think they may have changed owners. Hot pot: I have been here for hot pot a few times. The hot pots are individual. The meat could be better in quality. One time we ordered chicken, and it was quite tough. Everything else was decent though, and I do love their sauce bar - it's well stocked and easy to use. Skewers: I highly recommend trying these - they are super fun to eat with friends as you select different skewers with veggies, meats, tofu, and seafood. The mala soup it comes in is addictive. Dishes: We had the wontons in chili oil, which were good but portion was small for the cost. Service: Just okay - I feel like this place used to be owned by Chinese owners, but now no one here speaks Chinese. The lady waiting on us got mad at us for using a Chinese numbering system on our skewer order. That was bizarre! It's a straight up Chinese restaurant after all - we calmly rewrote our order (you write your skewer order down on a paper). read more

Mala Tang - 8. Spicy Sichuan Pork Wontons - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Mala Tang is the closest Chinese restaurant to where I live so I'd say it's our go-to spot for Chinese takeout--and no complaints because what we've gotten there have always been delicious! They have a fairly extensive menu so we definitely haven't had everything and we've never done hot pot there so can't speak to that but items like their mala bites, dry pots, and their other Sichuan dishes have all been great. Also their weekday lunch specials are such a great deal!! I only discovered it recently and think I will order those more now. read more

I was so excited to come here for the dry pot, only to be so disappointed I have never, ever, ever, had anything so salty in my life! And I eat super salty so when I say it is salty, IT IS SALTY!!! I chugged down the water and the tea pot I ordered as I ate because the food was so salty, and then ended up bringing half of the dry pot home because I couldn't finish it Also, when me and my husband walked in, we had to wait by the front desk looking like we're there to beg for food or something because the guy behind the bar was too busy on his computer and couldn't bother to give us a glance, and it was almost empty in the restaurant with only two tables with customers... Our waitress was okay after she greeted us, but that alone couldn't make up for the awkward wait and the quality of the food. Anyway, it wasn't my worst experience in a restaurant, but it sure wasn't the best. Don't think we'd come back anytime soon though. read more

I've been meaning to try this place for a while and just hadn't because it's *all the way in Virginia* - but so glad we finally did! The good news about coming all the way to Virginia: You get bang for your buck. The two of us spent $75, but we have enough leftovers for another whole meal - we just wanted to try so many things! Two people could definitely eat for closer to $50. The combo for two is a great deal, *but* doesn't include a bunch of the items available on the a la cart menu as an option. Instead, I ordered the combo for one with milk marinated beef (so tasty) and the traditional Chinese veggies (wooden ear mushrooms, napa cabbage, and I'm pretty sure we had another mushroom substituted for lotus root, but I loved it). Then we ordered another a la cart hot pot with broccoli, baby corn, quail egg and pork dumplings. The pork dumplings were an awesome addition and I was super glad we got those. We both got the mala broth, which our waitress described as medium spice. I'll say this: it's a very hot medium. It wasn't too much for either of us, but if you're on the fence I recommend getting the regular broth and spicing it up to your taste with additions from the sauce bar. Have I mentioned the sauce bar?! It has every sauce imaginable and some you've never imagined to add to your entrees. The service was great. Very attentive, and I really appreciated their honesty. I wanted to try the mapo tofu and asked her if it would be too much food to get that also and she said, "next time." Turns out it would have been *way* too much food, but too often you can't count on servers to tell you that. Overall, super glad we tried this place rather than spending twice the price for half the food at the hot pot pop up at Whaley's. We'll be back! read more

Mala Tang - Hot pot action. - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Came here to catch up with a friend, and was able to share a good meal. This is a simple and nice hot pot place. It's not incredibly frilly, and it's pretty easy to order. I think a good place for someone who hasn't had hot pot before, since you don't get overloaded with stuff. They have 4 broth selections, plenty of protein choices, veggies, and al a carte options if there are things that catch your eye. The tables do not have built in stoves, so lit heaters mean you might not want to bring super small children (hand eye coordination is key with lit stoves). I think this is a super cute spot for a date, or in my case, to catch up with a dear friend! read more

I just had the worst experience of my life. Worst service I have ever seen. The lady (they won't tell me her name) came out with an attitude and very arrogant. I simply asked her if she can recommend a mala dish and she started yelling and screaming at me. I asked for the manager and they said to come back Monday to Friday. She started telling me how this is a free country and that she has the right to talk to me like this. Unbelievable. I always have respect for any worker and let things go realizing that it is a difficult time for people. Her facial expressions, eye rolling and yelling loudly in an establishment is UNACCEPTABLE.. Wish I knew who to report her to read more

This was my first visit to Mala Tang and I hope to be back soon. When we arrived, I could tell the place was popular due to all the take out or delivery orders being filled and being place for pickup. The menu offers many choices at good prices. The restaurant will validate parking for the adjacent garage. The servers were prompt and very courteous. Most of the tables were blocked off to provide safe a physical distance between groups of customers. I wanted to change up my eating habits a bit so I ordered a noodle dish instead of a rice one. The Mala Special Combination Lao Mein entree was very good although there were a lot of seeds from peppers, which made it spicy. I will order it again, if it can have fewer pepper seeds. read more

Mala Tang - Combination Lao Mein (chicken, beef, shrimp) - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

We ordered a fried rice cake with pork and a beef dish. The food is just okay, too oily, especially the beef. Service is good. The environment is fine. read more

This was such a remarkable hot pot experience! The food was delicious! The service was excellent! And even the sauce bar was easy to maneuver with some excellent recommendations. I'll admit it was definitely pricey but it was 100% worth it. My partner and I will definitely come back here for special occasions. read more

Mala Tang - Beef Dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Mediocre food at ridiculously high prices. It took forever for us to get our waiter's attention. Then he surprised when he saw that the amount we tipped reflected the service we got. He also ran over to our table with my diet coke order, seemingly unbeknownst to the fact that carbonated drinks fizz when you shake them. read more

Came for dinner on a rainy Friday around 7pm. Restaurant was about half full. There is a parking garage next door with free parking with restaurant validation which was nice. Lots of spaces. Server was very nice and attentive. Hot pot was a little different just because you each get your own pot and I hadn't experienced something like this. Unfortunately you can't turn down the temperature on them like the electric ones but otherwise no issues. I thought broth wouldn't be enough but it was more than enough. Actual broth flavors were yummy and not too spicy (we got the traditional mala broth). Lots of veggie and meat options and there is also a DIY sauce bar which was good. Overall excellent experience and would definitely recommend read more

Mala Tang - Menu - Chinese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Being a huge fan of korean BBQ, I've been wanting to try hot pot for a while. My friend Stephanie and I came to Mala Tang for a late dinner on a Wednesday night. Having no expectations we were pleasantly surprised with our dining experience. The restaurant closes at 9:30pm Monday - Wednesday and we came in around 8:30pm so the place was kind of empty with just a few tables filled. The restaurant is quite large. We were immediately seated. The waiter was quick to take our order which was good because I came in starving. We started with the green onion pancake and I ordered the American vegetables, sirloin and Mala broth combination for my main. The broth was full of flavor and was not too spicy. You receive a large portion of vegetables and meat. Definitely enough for one person. Our server was extremely polite and attentive. The food came fast. The hot pot experience is great for a long slow dinner with friends, allowing you time to have good conversation as you cook your food. It really allows you to set the pace of your dining experience. Only weird thing is the parking situation. There is really no street parking around so we resorted to parking in the garage right next to the restaurant. Luckily the restaurant offers free parking to the garage on weekdays after 5pm. Just give them your ticket to stamp before leaving. All in all I enjoyed my first hot pot experience! I'll definitely be back. read more

COVID: this place is still open for hot pot and it's completely empty--felt like our own private party!! Best parts: The service here is amazing (we even got a free buns with condensed milk dessert for my wife's bday, which was delicious btw). And the beef in wine sauce is not to be missed (best thing I've ever cooked at a hot pot place and I used to live in Chengdu, China, which is famous for its hot pot). And I like that they do individual pots of broth. Also, the drinks list is GREAT (plenty of imported Asian beers, plum wine, and sake)!!! To be Improved: I wish they gave you a ladle or spoon to help retrieve your lost food (this happens often, even with small individual pots haha). And while the broth itself was good, it wasn't the best I've ever had and the spicy broth isn't actually that spicy (the spicy sauce helped, but I prefer the actual broth to be brimming with peppercorns). But I'd skip the scallops and flounder (both underwhelming and very plain). Also, the sauce is strange (1 sesame and 1 spicy) Accessibility: literally situated above a parking garage and they validate! Because of Covid, this place was deserted and was quiet, had plenty of space, and is not bright but well lit. Not great for vegetarians (not enough options), but fantastic for pescatarians! read more

The food was good. I had the Kung Pao chicken, the chicken with veggies, and the fried rice. The restaurant features a self serve sauce bar with adornments that include soy sauce, green onions, cilantro, peanut sauce, etc. They serve ONLY Chinese beer and a small selection of wines. The ambience is nice. Could be a good place for a date. THEY DO NOT ACCEPT AMERICAN EXPRESS read more

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Serving sizes are fairly generous. Style of cooking is authentic but the place seemed understaffed the time I went so service was a bit slow. Overall, solid value if you're looking for spicy and numbing Sichuan food. read more